How To Make Caramel Sauce

Give a flavor that almost everyone loves. You would most probably answer chocolate--the ever sweet, luscious, and an all-time favorite! But unfollowing the bandwagon would allow you to be an open-box on trying new alternatives.

Now, here is a blog dedicated to the not-so-conventional yet could be the new favorite next to chocolate--caramel!

If you are wondering how to make this luscious choco competitor, the steps are just easy. All you need are four ingredients to mix, boil, and heat for 20 minutes then… tada! Your caramel sauce is ready to be used as a topping, dip, coating, or whatever it is that runs in your imagination.

You could certainly find a stock of these in the kitchen so the creation of the caramel sauce would be very convenient. Once you learned on making this, you might not take your hands off in the kitchen anymore.

1.Caramelizing the Sugar

It involves two methods: dry and wet. Do first the wet method wherein sugar is cooked with water. Once done, you follow the dry method wherein you transfer and cook the sugar syrup on the pan. In a saucepan, place sugar and water under medium-high heat. Stir the mixture well and make sure that the sugar is completely coated with water and no remnants are left on the sides of the pan. Continue stirring until the sugar dissolves completely into a syrup. Once it appears boiling, evaporation starts as well as the caramelization of sugar. Please note that this is a quick process so you better be alert.

DO NOT STIR. Stirring triggers re-crystallization. We do not want a hard gritty sauce, right? Take your hands off and let it bubble. Wait until it turns brown. If you notice uneven browning--wherein some areas are quicker to heat than the others--just gently swirl the pan to distribute heat evenly. It’s on your discretion whether the caramel sauce is already good to go. It should appear golden brown and smell nutty. The color gives you an idea of its flavor--a lighter one is mild whereas a darker one might get quite bitter. A dark output indicate that it is burnt and you should not eat it. The steps may be easy but you still need to be meticulous. Be careful!

2. Add Heavy Cream

Once the sugar is perfectly caramelized, incorporate the cream to the pan and stir the mixture vigorously using a spoon or spatula with a long handle. Be careful of burning your yourself as the mixture would bubble for about thrice. You can now add salt at this point.

3.Heat According to Purpose

Heating of the sauce vary depending on how you want to consume it. If you want it as a warm sauce, cook it for about five minutes until it appears thick. The caramel’s texture is an indicator of how much fluid is left in the sauce. Thus, this is where you will depend on what temperature to set. A dippable texture only requires a lower heat at 225°F or 107°C compared to the one used for apple coverings which is quite thicker and requires 245°F or 118°C. You will be surprised how soft and chewy they would be even at room temperature.

Your sweet tooth probably can’t wait to taste this new favorite. It’s basically time- and cost-effective. You could do this anytime as the ingredients mentioned are the ones that you never leave empty. From toppings to dips, caramel sauce is a perfect match with your cookies or any other loved pastries!